


ripped at every edge

by desitonystark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 16th December 1991, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Extremely Minor Tony/Other, M/M, MIT Era, Pre-Slash, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27974958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desitonystark/pseuds/desitonystark
Summary: Tony’s at MIT when he finds out.(Or: the days after Tony finds out his parents are dead)
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	ripped at every edge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spiderrpcrker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiderrpcrker/gifts).



> Title is from Colors by Halsey, which is on my [rhodeytony playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68Le1u7V7l8CBV1tTCO8rE) if you're interested!!

Tony’s at MIT when he finds out.

Specifically, Tony is on his knees, between the thick thighs of one of Rhodey’s frat brothers, Ryan, who’s had a fair amount to drink and decided that he wants to experiment with his sexuality - leading to an extremely enjoyable set of events that culminated in Tony loosening his throat and swallowing his cock when he gets the call.

He pulls off Ryan's cock with a wet pop, licking the tip in silent apology as he fishes his pager to see a _9-1-1_ from Rhodey blinking up at him - the pager buzzing in the palm of his hand.

“One second,” he says to Ryan, pulling at his sleeve so he can wipe the spit around his mouth, “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.”

Except, Tony doesn’t go anywhere, because he opens the door to see Rhodey on the other side, fist raised as if he was about to knock; a morose look on his face.

Tony’s never seen that look on Rhodey’s face before, not in the two years he’s known him - which, admittedly, isn’t an extremely long amount of time, but is enough time for Tony to know that the look on Rhodey’s face doesn’t mean good news.

A pit starts growing in his stomach.

“What?” he says, stronger than he means to, but he can’t stand Rhodey looking at him like that for a second longer, it makes him watch to crawl out of his own skin, “What is it?”

“The police stopped by our apartment an hour ago,” Rhodey starts, falters, and then continues, “It’s your parents Tony.”

“What about them?” he scrunches up his nose, “Did something happen to them? Did something happen to my Ma?”

“Tony they -” Rhodey looks past his shoulder, as if realising Ryan with his semi hard dick out for the first time, “This really isn’t the right place for this conversation. Let’s go home.”

Tony wants to argue, wants to dig his heels in like a little kid and insist that Rhodey tell him _now,_ but Rhodey’s still got that morose look on his face; like he wants to pull Tony in and never let him go. 

Tony doesn’t know how to deal with that look aimed at him, not from _Rhodey,_ so he just nods quietly.

“Hey!” Ryan cries from the bed, speech slurred, “What about me?”

Tony throws a baleful look over your shoulder, “You’ve got two working hands and a half bottle of lotion on your bedside table. Get yourself off.”

 _Fucking_ frat boys.

//

Rhodey insists on flying with him.

There’s nine days till Christmas. Rhodey’s flight back to Philly is on the 22nd. He’s been talking about how excited he is to finally see his niece ever since Jeanette gave birth in September. He didn’t get to go back on Thanksgiving, on account of the fact that Tony had so much to drink that they ended up in the hospital so he could get his stomach pumped.

If Tony was a better friend, if Tony was a better _person,_ he would insist that Rhodey stay back at MIT, actually catch his flight to Philly like he planned to. 

If Tony had the ability to think about anybody other than himself, he wouldn’t let Rhodey come with him, wouldn’t let Rhodey mess up his own life just because Tony’s was so fucked up.

But Tony isn’t a better person, and Tony doesn’t have the ability to think of anything other than the fact that _his parents are dead._

The police were still waiting for them when he went back with Rhodey to their apartment. They hovered behind Rhodey like bodyguards as Rhodey sat him down on the couch, explained to him in soft tones that Howard had drank too much; that they’d found the car wrapped around a telephone pole.

There’s photos. Photos of the road his parents were on, photos of the accident, photos of the skid marks, photos of his parent’s dead bodies. Photos of his Ma’s lifeless corpse.

They still need Tony to go identify the bodies though, even though just a passing glance at the photos will tell you who was in that car. 

It’s apparently standard protocol, to have a family member come identify the bodies. Howard had no siblings, and his Ma hasn’t talked to her family in Italy since before she married Howard. Tony’s all they have left.

Tony’s all that’s left.

//

“Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark, I’m sorry, but I’m going to need you to confirm their identities.”

“Mr. Stark, are these your parents?”

“Yes.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss Sir. I’ll give you some time alone with them.”

//

Tony takes the first two steps up to the Mansion, before he stops, unable to move further. Rhodey is right behind him, but Tony still jolts when he feels Rhodey’s hand on his shoulder.

“It’s just me Tones,” Rhodey says in a soothing tone. He’s been using that tone a lot with Tony over the past couple of days, like Tony’s a stray animal he’s worried he’ll spook. It might have something to do with the fact that Tony’s barely had five words since he found out, “Why’d you stop?”

Tony doesn’t know why he stopped. There’s only three more steps till the door. He doesn’t know why he’s stopped. 

He turns to Rhodey, unable to open his mouth, looking at Rhodey, as if Rhodey can read his mind through his eyes.

“Okay,” Rhodey says after a couple of seconds, as if Tony’s responded, even though he knows he hasn’t, “Let’s go find the closest hotel. Mr. Stane said we could call him for anything right? I think this qualifies.”

Rhodey shifts his hand so it’s resting on Tony’s back instead of his shoulders, and turns them both around so they’re walking down the stairs. The cab that drove them from the airport is still waiting, probably because it hasn’t even been a full minute since he dropped them off; and Tony listens as Rhodey talks to the driver about taking them to the nearest hotel.

His hand doesn’t leave Tony’s back, not when they make their way back into the cab, not for the thirty minute car ride that passes in relative silence until they end up in front of the Ritz, not when they exit the cab and he’s paying the driver a little extra for his troubles.

“I have a suite,” Tony says, and Rhodey whirls around to face him; eyes wide. His tongue feels heavy, like it’s been coated with lead, but Tony pushes through to elaborate, “You don’t need to call Uncle Obie. I have a suite at the Ritz. They’ll recognise me when we go in.”

“Okay Tones,” Rhodey says, like there’s nothing weird about the fact that these are the first words Tony’s said to him all day, “We’ll check into your suite.”

//

There’s only one bed in the suite. This is by design, because Tony uses this suite for people he doesn’t trust to bring back to the Mansion, or when he’s not feeling like waiting. He has a suite in the Ritz because it’s in the middle of the city, and the staff are extremely discrete - and because they have good room service options.

There’s only one bed in the suite because Tony brings people back to this suite to fuck them.

He hasn’t brought Rhodey back to this suite to fuck him. The singular bed in the suite might cause some problems.

Rhodey comes in after Tony, because he’s elected to bring in their suitcases, even though the bellboy at the concierge tried to explain to Rhodey that it was hotel policy to have the luggage delivered to the guests’ suites; which means he doesn’t automatically see the single bed in the suite.

Tony should say something about the single bed, offer to call and ask for an extra pull-out, but Rhodey just turns to the single bed, and says, “Looks like it’s big enough for the two of us. What’s good to eat over here?”

Tony’s known for a long time that he’s in love with Rhodey. In different circumstances - if he thought Rhodey wasn’t straight, if he thought Rhodey felt the same way, if they weren’t in New York to attend his parent’s funeral; Tony _would’ve_ brought Rhodey back to this suite to fuck him.

Or get fucked. He’s not picky.

Tony’s known for a long time that he’s in love with Rhodey. It was one of the absolute facts in his world: the sky was blue, he was a Stark, he was in love with James Rhodes.

He’s never had the urge to say it before, to voice it, to make Rhodey understand just how much he means to Tony.

Rhodey’s opening up their suitcases, pulling out Tony’s suit and hanging it so that it doesn’t get crumpled before the funeral - and Tony has never wanted Rhodey to know just how much he means to Tony more.

//

They sleep on opposite sides of the bed. It’s a king sized bed, big enough to fit three, even four people comfortably, so there’s more than enough space for both of them to sleep.

Rhodey takes the left side of the bed, and Tony takes the right, and it’s reminiscent of their dorm days; when Rhodey had the bed on the left side of the room and Tony had the bed on the right. 

Rhodey falls asleep almost immediately, his soft snores filling up the room, but Tony takes longer. He curls on his side, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping the blanket as tight around himself as possible.

The room is heat-controlled, but Tony can still feel himself shivering.

He doesn’t know when he falls asleep, but he does know that when he wakes up; he’s no longer on the right side of the bed. At some point during the night, he migrated towards the middle, and from the looks of it, so had Rhodey.

His legs are tangled up around Rhodey’s, the sheets caught between the two of them, and he’s curled under Rhodey’s arms - like he was seeking warmth.

He blinks once, twice, and then looks up to see Rhodey looking down at him, a soft smile on his lips.

“It’s my Ma’s funeral today,” Tony says in a scratchy voice, still rough with sleep, and Rhodey leans down ever so slightly to drop a kiss on his forehead, “Yeah it is baby.”

He moves closer to Rhodey, almost on instinct, and Rhodey’s arm moves from where it’s bracing his head to wrap around him, fingers lightly stroking his sides.

“Do I have to go?” Tony asks after a couple of minutes, softly “I like it here. With you. It doesn’t hurt right now.”

“No, you don’t,” Rhodey replies, equally soft, and the arm he has around Tony tightens, “But I think you’ll regret it if you don’t Tones. I’ll be with you every step of the way okay? But if you don’t want to go, we don’t have to go. We can stay right here, just me and you, and I won’t ever let you go.”

“Promise?” 

He doesn’t know what he’s asking for. Promise that they don’t have to go? Promise that Rhodey will be with him every step of the way? Promise that Rhodey won’t let him go?

He doesn’t know what he’s asking for, but it apparently doesn’t matter, because he feels Rhodey drop another kiss on his forehead, harder this time, like he wants to make sure Tony feels it, “I promise.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll go. But, not right now. I want this, _us_ to last a couple minutes longer. Can we stay like this, for a couple more minutes?”

“We can stay like this as long as you like Tones.”

_Fin_

**Author's Note:**

> [i'm also on tumblr](https://ad1thi.tumblr.com)   
> 


End file.
